FICO® Scores and Your Mortgage

Years ago, credit scoring had little to do with mortgage lending. When reviewing the credit worthiness of a borrower, an underwriter would make a subjective decision based on past payment history.

Then things changed.

Lenders studied the relationship between credit scores and mortgage delinquencies. There was a definite relationship. Almost half of those borrowers with FICO® scores below 550 became ninety days delinquent at least once during their mortgage. On the other hand, only two out of every 10,000 borrowers with FICO® scores above eight hundred became delinquent.

So lenders began to take a closer look at FICO® scores and this is what they found out. The chart below shows the likelihood of a ninety day delinquency for specific FICO® scores.

FICO® Score

Odds of a Delinquent Account

595

2 to 1

600

4 to 1

615

9 to 1

630

18 to 1

645

36 to 1

660

72 to 1

680

144 to 1

780

576 to 1

If you were lending a couple hundred thousand dollars, who would you want to lend it to?

FICO® Scores, What Affects Them, How Lenders Look At Them

Imagine a busy lending office and a loan officer has just ordered a credit report. He hears the whir of the laser printer and he knows the pages of the credit report are going to start spitting out in just a second. There is a moment of tension in the air. He watches the pages stack up in the collection tray, but he waits to pick them up until all of the pages are finished printing. He waits because FICO® scores are located at the end of the report. Previously, he would have probably picked them up as they came off. A FICO® above 700 will evoke a smile, then a grin, perhaps a shout and a “victory” style arm pump in the air. A score below 600 will definitely result in a frown, a furrowed brow, and concern.

FICO® stands for Fair Isaac & Company, and credit scores are reported by each of the three major credit bureaus: TRW (Experian), Equifax, and Trans-Union. The score does not come up exactly the same on each bureau because each bureau places a slightly different emphasis on different items. Scores range from 365 to 840.

Some of the things that affect your FICO® scores:

Delinquencies

Too many accounts opened within the last twelve months

Short credit history

Balances on revolving credit are near the maximum limits

Public records, such as tax liens, judgments, or bankruptcies

No recent credit card balances

Too many recent credit inquiries

Too few revolving accounts

Too many revolving accounts

Sounds confusing, doesn’t it?

The credit score is actually calculated using a scorecard where you receive points for certain things. Creditors and lenders who view your credit report do not get to see the scorecard, so they do not know exactly how your score was calculated. They just see the final scores.

Basic guidelines on how to view the FICO® scores vary a little from lender to lender. Usually, a score above 680 will require a very basic review of the entire loan package. Scores between 640 and 680 require more thorough underwriting. Once a score gets below 640, an underwriter will look at a loan application with a more cautious approach. Many lenders will not even consider a loan with a FICO® score below 600, some as high as 620.

FICO® Scores and Interest Rates

Credit scores can affect more than whether your loan gets approved or not. They can also affect how much you pay for your loan, too. Some lenders establish a base price and will reduce the points on a loan if the credit score is above a certain level. For example, one major national lender reduces the cost of a loan by a quarter point if the FICO® score is greater than 725. If it is between 700 and 724, they will reduce the cost by one-eighth of a point. A point is equal to one percent of the loan amount.

There are other lenders who do it in reverse. They establish their base price, but instead of reducing the cost for good FICO® scores, they add on costs for lower FICO® scores. The results from either method would work out to be approximately the same interest rate. It is just that the second way looks better when you are quoting interest rates on a rate sheet or in an advertisement.

FICO® Scores and Mortgage Underwriting Decisions

FICO® Scores as Guidelines

FICO® scores are only guidelines and factors other than FICO® scores also affect underwriting decisions. Some examples of compensating factors that will make an underwriter more lenient toward lower FICO® scores can be a larger down payment, low debt-to-income ratios, an excellent history of saving money, and others. There also may be a reasonable explanation for items on the credit history report that negatively impact your credit score.

They Don’t Always Make Sense

Even so, sometimes credit scores do not seem to make any sense at all. One borrower with a completely flawless credit history can have a FICO® score below 600. One borrower with a foreclosure on her credit report can have a FICO® above 780.

Portfolio & Sub-Prime Lenders

Finally, there are a few portfolio lenders who do not even look at credit scoring, at least on their portfolio loans. A portfolio lender is usually a savings & loan institution that originates some adjustable rate mortgages that they intend to keep in their own portfolio rather than selling them in the secondary mortgage market. These lenders may look at home loans differently. Some concentrate on the value of the home. Some may concentrate more on the savings history of the borrower. There are also sub-prime lenders, or “B & C paper” lenders, who will provide a home loan, but at a higher interest rate and cost.

Running Credit Reports

One thing to remember when you are shopping for a home loan is that you should not let numerous mortgage lenders run credit reports on you. Wait until you have a reasonable expectation that they are the lender you are going to use to obtain your home loan. Not only will you have to explain any credit inquiries in the last ninety days, but also numerous inquiries will lower your FICO® score by a small amount. This may not matter if your FICO® is 780, but it would matter if it is 642.

Don’t Buy A Car Just Before Looking for a Home!

A word of advice not directly related to FICO® scores. When people begin to think about the possibility of buying a home, they often think about buying other big-ticket items, such as cars. Quite often when someone asks a lender to pre-qualify them for a home loan there is a brand new car payment on the credit report. Often, they would have qualified in their anticipated price range except that the new car payment has raised their debt-to-income ratio, lowering their maximum purchase price. Sometimes they have bought the car so recently that the new loan doesn’t even show up on the credit report yet, but with six to eight credit inquiries from car dealers and automobile finance companies it is kind of obvious. Almost every time you sit down in a car dealership, it generates two inquiries into your credit.

Credit History is Important

Nowadays, credit scores are important if you want to get the best interest rate available. Protect your FICO® score. Do not open new revolving accounts needlessly. Do not fill out credit applications needlessly. Do not keep your credit cards nearly maxed out. Make sure you do use your credit occasionally. Always make sure every creditor has their payment in their office no later than 29 days past due.

Testimonials

11/2018

We bought our Kona home in November 2018 and are so grateful we worked with Lance and Kimi. We started working with them in the spring of 2018, when we visited Kona and Lance took us to see many properties and informed us about microclimates and different neighborhoods. Then we headed backed to Boston and Lance kept in touch with us about listings, the market, and the vog. One time he texted us a picture of a gorgeous clear day, and a few days later he texted a picture of a voggy day, saying he wanted us to see that too - that's the kind of people Lance and Kimi are, honest and upfront. Once we found a home their guidance and hard work were absolutely indispensable to us. Great negotiating skills, responsiveness to our many questions and concerns via text, email and Skype, and through the entire closing process holding our hands and digging up and/or checking all documents with our best interests in mind. There was so much to keep track of and so much we weren't even aware of that needed to be checked, we are beyond grateful that we worked with Lance and Kimi. They are experienced, knowledgeable, efficient, thorough, professional, and kind.
You can't go wrong with Lance and Kimi!

Denise & Joe

2/19/2019
Lance, we love that your client has an agent who cares about them the way you do.
Love the idea of sharing the shifting market guide this way, and love even more your commitment to guiding and advising your clients through the buying/selling process. We are grateful to be your partner!
Yours truly
Keeping Current Matters Charlotte P. H.

8/31/2018
What an outstanding experience we had with Lance Owens and Kimi Nagatoshi!! We gave Lance our thoughts about what we might be looking for in a new home on Hawaii Island and he showed us quite a number of places that fit that description. We hadn't thought we'd actually buy on that trip -- we were really only trying to see what we could afford -- but with what Lance showed us, we ended up putting an offer in after only 3 days of looking. And then Kimi went to work helping us through the entire process of the inspection, counteroffers, and, ultimately, the purchase. It's our dream home and we have both Lance and Kimi to thank!
Karl and Mary

5/18/2016
Aloha Lance!
Thank you all for your “local kine” support of the Big Island Chocolate Festival this year. It was really very successful and your support helped us keep the ball rolling as we brought tickets in. I will let you know how much was raised for the schools, but wanted you to see this online news story that mentions your sponsorship. Hawaii 24/7 has quite a large readership. Thanks again!
http://www.hawaii247.com/2016/05/15/big-island-chocolate-festival-names-top-confections/
Julie Ziemelis-Owner Ziemelis Communications Integrated Communications Expert-PR

2/29/2016
In 15+ years of Hawaii Mortgage Company dealing with thousands of realtors, it is very rare when you come upon agents who really care and love what they do and want to make the transaction as wonderful as possible for all parties involved. Lance and Kimi go above and beyond for their clients and the mortgage professionals (like us!) who they are working with. In a world full of mortgage regulations, Lance and Kimi make sure to keep everyone on track of the timelines to ensure closing on time, which benefits both the sellers and buyers.
We are lucky to work with them and look forward to many more transactions together in the future!
Maura K. Shannon
Manager / Mortgage Loan Originator
NMLS #339190
Hawaii Mortgage Company
NMLS #232582
443 Portlock Road
Honolulu, Hawaii 96825
Tel: 808-988-6622
Fax: 808-988-7722
Maura K. Shannon